Vertical Gravimeter Array Observations and Their Performance in Groundwater‐Level Monitoring

The gravitational effects of the atmosphere and subsurface water are significant obstacles to observing gravity variations on the sub‐μGal (1 μGal = 10 nm/s 2 ) scale. The goal of this study is to detect changes in gravity that are caused by mass redistributions deep underground related to seismological phenomena by reducing environmental gravity effects using multiple gravimeters belowground and aboveground, which we term a “vertical gravimeter array.” Based on an evaluation of the responses to atmospheric effects and rainfall events identified in observations made with individual relative gravimeters, the vertical gravimeter array succeeds in stacking the target signals from deep underground and in reducing errors due to rainfall or free groundwater and atmospheric effects. To enable accurate interpretation, we introduce a physical approach that is based on attraction and loading deformation effects for atmospheric reduction using state‐of‐the‐art gridded weather data products. Changes in the water levels of confined groundwater can be regarded as a signal from deep underground, and a response coefficient of approximately −15 μGal/m was obtained. In addition, the response coefficient of the free groundwater level was determined to be approximately 5 μGal/m. Such array observations are expected to contribute to monitoring crustal activity and hydrological studies.